KR20140067886A - The polishing apparatus and the polishing methdo for polishing the peripheral edge of the work, etc by the polishing tape - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided in the present invention are an apparatus and a method for polishing a periphery of a work such as a glass plate with high precision. The polishing apparatus includes a first polishing portion which polishes a straight portion to be polished in the periphery of a work and has a horizontal first polishing axis, and a second polishing portion which polishes a non-straight portion to be polished in the periphery of the work and has a horizontal second polishing axis. Each of the first and second polishing portions has a work unit to hold and support the work and a polishing tape unit arranging at least a part of the surface of a polishing tape to face the work unit where a polishing axis is lying in between the polishing tape unit and the work unit. The arranged surface of the polishing tape forms each polishing surface as a section, and polishing is done by relative movement of the straight polished portion and the polishing surface being in contact with each other around the polishing axis and relative movement of the non-straight polished potion and the polishing surface being in contact with each other around the polishing axis.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus and a polishing method for polishing a peripheral portion of a work such as a plate glass by a polishing tape and a polishing method.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to a flat display device such as a cellular phone display window, a liquid crystal panel, an organic EL panel, a plasma panel or a solar cell panel, a cover glass for an electronic part, . In particular, the present invention relates to a polishing apparatus and a polishing method for polishing the periphery of a work such as a plate glass with high precision using an abrasive tape.

Recently, the market for smart phones and tablet-type handsets is expanding. In these electronic devices, the display is often exposed, and scratches are likely to occur at the time of drop or impact. The size of the display is, for example, about 5 inches for a smartphone, about 6 inches to about 10 inches for a tablet-type terminal, about 3 inches for a feature phone (aspect ratio is usually 4: 16: 9). A demand for a cover member for protecting a display for such electronic devices is increasing.

As a material of a cover member of a display (a main display, a sub display, a camera display, or the like), instead of acrylic or polycarbonate having scratch resistance which is hard coated on a conventional one side (or both sides) The use of the cover glass has been increasing, and it has become a challenge to improve the strength of the cover glass.

The glass is theoretically a high strength material (1000 to 2000 kg / mm 2), but the actual strength is low (3 to 20 kg / mm 2). This is because there are minute scratches, cracks, chipping, etc. (latent images) that are not visible on the surface of the glass or the like, and stress concentration occurs when tensile stress acts on the glass, which often causes breakage .

In order to improve the strength of the glass, various physical methods (surface quenching method and the like) and chemical methods (chemical etching treatment, ion exchange method, etc.) have been devised. However, even when these strengthening methods are adopted, It is important to remove fine scratches on the glass.

The cover glass is produced by cutting a glass-untreated sintered glass plate, which is generally a material, into a predetermined size, and performing various processing on the glass untreated sintered glass. Fine scratches, cracks, and the like are formed on the end surface which is the cut surface of the glass-unperturbed soda-lime. In order to remove fine scratches formed on the end face, a chamfer (a chamfer) for removing the corners and corners is performed.

In the chamfer, a so-called C chamfer or a corner portion (a boundary portion between one end face and an adjacent end face) that polishes a side edge of the plate glass of a predetermined shape (such as a rectangular shape) Called " R chamfering "

Conventionally, an abrasive material such as a grinding stone is used for the C chamfer or the R chamfer, and in particular, in the case of the R chamfer, an abrasive material having a corresponding shape is required by the R shape (for example, R1, R10 and the like) It has been difficult to form it with high precision. In addition, it is difficult to maintain and improve the quality of the surface to be polished formed by polishing program or polishing.

Conventionally, a chamfering process for removing only a corner portion has been performed by tilting a circle-shaped grindstone of a substantially disk-shaped grindstone to the corner of the plate glass (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-233351). Further, a C chamfering process has been performed in which an inclined surface is provided on the end face of the grinding stone, and the inclined face is pressed against the corner of the plate glass to remove only the corners (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-231046 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-51068 (Patent Document 3).

In addition, an R-chamfering process or a total-type process has been performed in which an arc-shaped concave portion or a concave portion having a desired shape is formed on the end face of the grinding stone to remove the end face of the plate glass along the shape of the end face of the grinding stone Open Publication No. 2002-59346 Patent Document 4, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-85710 Patent Document 5).

In the conventional chamfering process as described above, a diamond wheel of a metal bond in which a metal powder is hardened and sintered to fix diamond abrasive grains is used as a grinding wheel, and a wheel (grinding wheel) having different abrasive grain sizes is used, Tea processing was done. In the first machining, a wheel using diamond particles having a mesh size of # 325 to # 600 was used, and the average surface roughness (Ra) of the machined portion of the end portion of the plate glass was in the range of about 0.5 μm to 1.0 μm. In order to reduce the surface roughness, in the secondary machining, a finishing wheel using diamond particles having mesh sizes of # 1000 to # 2000, which was formed into the same sectional shape as the wheel for primary machining, was used.

In place of the diamond wheel of the metal bond as described above, a chamfered wheel of a fiber structure filled with a resin between the fibers or a resin structure having abrasive grains such as silicon carbide or alumina having mesh size of # 500 to # 2000 A chamfered wheel has been proposed (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-160147: Patent Document 6). The chamfered wheel (grindstone) was rotated, and the peripheral edge of the wheel formed in a concave shape was pressed against the end face of a plate glass or the like for a liquid crystal display to perform machining. The chamfered wheel was used by tilting the rotation axis at a predetermined angle with respect to the water line formed on the surface of the plate glass in order to perform uniform polishing without the machining unevenness.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-233351 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-231046 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-51068 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-59346 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-85710 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-160147

There has been a problem that the clogging of the grinding wheel and the wear of the grinding stone are gradually progressed when the grinding wheel is chamfered while pressing the grinding wheel to the edge of the end portion of the plate glass. If the shape or the like of the grindstone processing portion is deteriorated due to clogging or abrasion, grinding flaws are generated on the periphery of the plate glass, and the grindstone does not contact a part of the periphery of the plate glass, Sintering or the like may occur due to unevenness.

When the shape of the grinding wheel is poor, dressing or truing is performed. However, high precision of forming is essential for the diamond wheel, and it takes time to adjust the position of the dressing or the grinding wheel. In addition, there is a problem in that cost is increased because it is necessary to perform dressing of the machining portion in a state where a large amount of unused area of the grinding stones remains, or to replace the grinding stone after the life of the machining portion has expired.

Further, when chamfering the periphery of the plate glass using the grinding wheel, mechanical impact is applied to the grinding wheel when the grinding wheel is brought into contact with the workpiece, and the plate glass is damaged by the impact.

In the chamfered wheel (Patent Document 6) such as a resin structure having a low rigidity as compared with the diamond wheel of metal bond, the impact on the edge of the end portion of the plate glass is reduced, and the occurrence of cut and scratches is reduced. However, there has been a problem in that dressing (or truing) of the grinding wheel is frequently incurred because the abrasion of the grinding stone becomes severe and the shape of the machining portion changes rapidly and clogging occurs. Further, there is a problem that it takes a long time to repair the apparatus because the abrasive debris of the grinding stone adheres to the work such as the plate glass, the cleaning device or the cleaning process becomes necessary, or the apparatus itself becomes dirty.

Further, it has been demanded that the cover glass (plate glass) for display, which has recently been in increasing demand, has a thin thickness (for example, 1 mm or less) and chamfering of the periphery (corners and corners) with higher precision. When the periphery of the plate glass is chamfered by using a conventional grinding stone, the precision of the obtainable machining surface is insufficient, and fine scratches or chipping remain on the periphery, so that the strength of the plate glass can not be improved by polishing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a polishing apparatus capable of polishing a periphery of a work such as a plate glass by using an abrasive tape and processing it with high accuracy. Further, there is provided a polishing apparatus capable of polishing the periphery of a work having various shapes by using a polishing apparatus and a polishing tape.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a polishing method for polishing the periphery of a plate glass with high precision so as to improve the strength of the plate glass. It is an object of the present invention to provide a plate glass which is polished by the above method and has improved strength.

According to one aspect of the present invention for solving the above problems, there is provided a polishing apparatus for polishing a periphery of a work with a polishing tape, the polishing apparatus having a first horizontal polishing axis for polishing a linearly polished portion of the periphery of the work A first polishing unit including a first polishing unit and a second polishing unit having a horizontal second polishing axis for polishing a non-linearly polished portion of the periphery of the work, wherein the first polishing unit includes a first work unit for holding a workpiece And a first abrasive tape unit for disposing a surface of at least a part of the first abrasive tape so as to face the first work unit with a first abrasive axis interposed therebetween, And a second polishing tape unit for placing the surface of at least part of the second polishing tape opposite to the second work unit with the second polishing axis interposed therebetween, , The surface of the first abrasive tape is divided to form a first abrasive surface and the abrasive is performed by relatively moving the first abrasive surface in contact with the linearly polished portion and the first abrasive surface, , The surface of the second abrasive tape is divided and the second abrasive surface is formed, and the non-linear abrasive portion and the second abrasive surface are brought into contact with each other so as to move relative to each other on the second abrasive axis, do.

With this configuration, by using the abrasive tape, the linearly polished portion of the periphery of the work, for example, the edge portion (corner portion) of the rectangular plate glass and the non-linearly polished portion of the periphery of the work, The corners of the plate glass can be polished by a polishing apparatus. Further, by arranging the first polishing tape and the second polishing tape (which may be the same) on the polishing apparatus, it is possible to obtain various shapes (for example, a linear shape or a shape having a predetermined curvature ) Can be polished. The polishing apparatus according to the present invention can polish the periphery of a thin plate workpiece having a thickness of 1 mm or less with high precision. The work may be a plate glass or a plate including a crystal material such as silicon. The present invention is particularly effective for polishing the periphery so as to improve the strength of a plate comprising a crystal material having wall characteristics. The work may be a plate including a crystal material having no wall characteristics, or a plate including a metallic material such as stainless steel or aluminum.

The polishing apparatus according to the present invention may suitably include a work carrying unit for performing automatic continuous polishing from the first polishing section to the second polishing section. The work carrying unit has arm means for suitably sucking and conveying the upper surface of the work. The arm means of the work carrying unit also rotates and places the work on the work unit. For example, as shown in Fig. 15, with respect to a rectangular work W, a center C1, which is an intersection of diagonal lines of the work, or a center C2, which is an intersection of a diagonal line of a square including a short side of the work, , Rotate the work (90 degrees or 180 degrees). By having the work carrying unit, for example, the entire periphery of the work including the four end faces of the rectangular work (or eight sides along the upper and lower faces) or the four corners can be continuously and automatically polished.

The polishing apparatus according to the present invention appropriately polishes the periphery of the work including the plate glass. The linearly polished portion and the first polished surface in the first polished portion of the polishing apparatus when polishing the peripheral portion of the work including the plate glass are formed so that the linearly polished portion of the periphery of the plate glass is polished by the average surface roughness Ra) of 20 nm or less and a maximum bone depth (Rv) of 200 nm or less, and in the second polishing section of the polishing apparatus, the non-linearly polished portion and the second polishing surface The non-linearly polished portion of the peripheral portion is relatively moved such that the average surface roughness Ra is 20 nm or less and the maximum bone depth Rv is 200 nm or less.

The polishing apparatus according to the present invention is configured to polish the periphery of the plate glass to improve the mechanical strength of the plate glass. As shown in Fig. 16, the plate glass W as the object to be polished has (A) a concave (convex) concave portion formed when the untreated plate is divided on the main surface (upper surface, lower surface) (B) cracks, and the like. The sharp convex portion formed at the corner portion becomes a starting point of chipping, and the crack becomes a starting point of destruction of the plate glass. The polishing apparatus according to the present invention improves the strength of the plate glass by polishing the periphery of the plate glass with high precision so that cracks or the like generated during the manufacture of the plate glass do not propagate and disappear. The polishing surface is made of the polishing tape so that the polishing surface and the portion to be polished move relative to each other so as not to form scratches or chipping on the polishing portion to be polished in order to form a highly precise surface feature capable of improving the strength of the plate glass.

Specifically, the first work unit includes a first workpiece holding base for holding the workpiece and a swinging means for swinging the first workpiece holding base along the first axis of abrasion.

In the polishing apparatus according to the present invention, polishing is performed by linearly reciprocating (swinging) the portion to be polished linearly with respect to the stopped polishing surface horizontally at a predetermined stroke. The work unit is downsized and lightweight, and by arranging a balancer or the like, it is possible to reduce vibration during rocking. As a result, the generation of scratches on the polished surface due to the vibration is reduced, and the polished surface can be finished with high precision and smoothness. The position of the polishing surface is stopped, and the polishing tape forming the polishing surface may be running.

In the polishing apparatus according to the present invention, the range (stroke) of the plate glass held by the work holding unit and the polishing surface of the polishing tape unit (relative) swinging is appropriately set within a range of 1 to 200 mm plus or minus have. By doing so, deviation (sagging) of the amount of polishing becomes less likely to occur.

Further, the second work unit includes an X-direction movable stage provided on a horizontal base so as to be movable in a horizontal direction and in a direction (X-direction) perpendicular to the second polishing axis, and an X-direction movable stage in a direction parallel to the second polishing axis Direction movable stage and a Y-direction movable stage integrally provided with a groove portion extending in the X-direction, and a Y-direction movable stage rotatably supported horizontally by a first vertical shaft integrally provided on the X- And a second vertical support shaft extending from the surface of the second workpiece support base, the second vertical support shaft having a second vertical axis extending in the Y-directional movable stage, And the workpiece is held on the second workpiece holding base so that a non-linearly polished portion to be polished moves along the first vertical axis and the second vertical axis By this, while the swing movement is characterized in that the swing along the second grinding axis.

Also in the second polishing section, the non-linearly polished portion to be polished against the stopped polishing surface is reciprocated in the horizontal plane and reciprocates in a predetermined stroke to perform polishing. At this time, the swinging motion can be determined according to the curvature or the like of the portion to be polished (or along the curvature to be formed), and the locus of the horizontal reciprocating motion coincides with the axis of abrasion, Polishing is performed in succession.

The two vertical axis positions are preferably synchronously controlled by a servo motor or the like. The position x in the X direction of the first vertical axis and the position x 'in the X direction and the position y in the Y direction of the second vertical axis are synchronously controlled so that the non-linearly polished portion such as the corner portion of the plate glass is made into the desired R shape For example, R1, R10, etc.).

Accordingly, even a single type of abrasive tape can polish a portion to be polished having various curvatures. It is not necessary to produce an abrasive material (such as a grinding wheel) in conformity with the R shape, and a highly accurate finished surface can be formed at the corner of the work while reducing the cost.

The first abrasive tape unit has first abrasive tape moving means for moving the first abrasive face in the horizontal direction and in the direction perpendicular to the first abrasive axis, And the second abrasive tape unit has second abrasive tape moving means for moving the second abrasive face in the horizontal direction and in the direction perpendicular to the second abrasive axis, At least a part of the non-linearly polished portion and the second polishing surface can contact with each other on the second polishing axis.

By having such a positioning mechanism as described above, for example, the entire edge of the rectangular workpiece can be brought into contact with the flat polishing surface on the polishing axis, and uniform polishing without bias can be performed. Further, since the mechanical impact on one point of the work is suppressed, generation of chipping and the propagation of the cracks existing in the work are suppressed, so that highly accurate polishing can be performed to improve the breaking strength of the work. In addition, there is no variation in strength for each work, and the quality can be stabilized.

The first abrasive tape unit includes a first abrasive tape unit for inclining the longitudinal axis of the first abrasive surface with respect to the first abrasive axis, And second inclining means for inclining the second abrasive axis with respect to the second abrasive axis.

The polishing tape unit according to the present invention has a polishing pad parallel to the polishing axis, which is positioned so as to face the work unit as appropriate, and the surface of the polishing tape disposed on the polishing pad (so as to be drivable) Thereby forming a polishing surface for polishing the portion. The polishing tape arranged on the polishing pad has a predetermined width and length and has an axis (longitudinal axis) in the longitudinal direction. The length axis is the same as the running direction when the polishing tape runs. The longitudinal axis may coincide with the polishing axis, or may be inclined with respect to the polishing axis.

The longitudinal axis of the polishing surface can be inclined by, for example,? Degrees. When the polishing surface is a vertical surface,? Degrees is an inclination angle with respect to the horizontal surface.

The polishing tape defining the polishing surface has a predetermined width. There is also a case where the vehicle runs continuously at a predetermined speed. If the longitudinal axis of the abrasive tape is made horizontal, for example, the abrasive surface (abrasive tape) that comes into contact with the straight-line edge of the workpiece becomes small, and the amount of abrasive tape Loses. Since the polishing apparatus according to the present invention has a means for tilting the longitudinal axis of the polishing surface, the polishing apparatus has a great cost advantage. That is, the inclination of the abrasive tape with respect to the axis of abscissas of the abrasive surface (the running direction in the case where the abrasive surface is run) can effectively use a wide range of the abrasive tape (appropriately the entire surface) Cost) can be reduced. It is possible to determine the inclination angle? In the range of 0 degree <? &Amp;le; 90 degrees, for example, according to the length of the work piece portion of the plate glass or the like. It is possible to cope with a work such as a plate glass having a different size with a polishing tape having a constant width, and the structure of the polishing tape unit can be simplified. Even when a plurality of tape units are used, the specifications become uniform, and the manufacturing cost of the polishing tape unit can be reduced. Further, since one type of abrasive tape can cope with many types of work (plate glass, etc.), there is no need to exchange tapes for each work, and the cycle time can be reduced. Since the kinds of abrasive tapes are reduced, inventory management is facilitated (reduction of defective stocks, volume discount by purchasing the same type of tape integrally, etc.). It is possible to reduce the weight of the abrasive tape by using the abrasive tape having a narrow width, and it becomes easy to replace the tape. Further, it is possible to simultaneously polish a plurality of plate glasses using a polishing tape having a constant width, thereby further reducing the cycle time.

The first polishing tape unit may include a first rotating means for rotating the first polishing surface about the first polishing axis, and the second polishing tape unit may include a second polishing surface for rotating the second polishing surface about the center of the second polishing axis And a second rotating means for rotating the first rotating means.

The polishing apparatus according to the present invention can arrange the polishing surface vertically and further rotate the polishing surface about the polishing axis (or the rotation axis parallel to the polishing axis) to be inclined with respect to the vertical plane. By doing this, the straight side edge of the work can be polished on the C side. Since the polishing tape unit is rotated, desired C-side polishing can be performed on the edge portions along the upper and lower surfaces of the work fixed horizontally to the work unit. The work unit does not need to tilt the work, and the configuration can be simplified. The range of the angle? At which the polishing surface of the polishing tape unit pivots around the polishing axis is at most 90 degrees (in this case, the polishing surface is horizontal) in the vertical direction, with the polishing surface parallel to the vertical surface as appropriate.

Alternatively, the polishing tape unit may not have a rotating mechanism. In this case, in order to polish one side edge (corner portion) along the upper surface (or the lower surface) of the work such as a horizontally placed plate glass, the polishing surface of the polishing tape unit may be polished with respect to the vertical surface It may be fixed at a 45-degree inclined state to constitute a polishing tape unit.

Further, the first work unit includes a work moving means for moving the work in the horizontal direction and in the direction perpendicular to the first abrasive axis. By doing so, the linearly polished portion and the polished surface can be surely brought into contact with each other on the polishing axis.

The polishing apparatus according to the present invention may further comprise a first workpiece fixing means for pressing and fixing and / or attracting and fixing the workpiece, wherein the second workpiece unit presses and fixes the workpiece And / or second work fixing means for fixing by suction.

A work such as a plate glass placed on a work unit (first and second) is fixed to a work holding base of the work unit before actual polishing processing. As a fixing means, a sucking force and a pressing force are appropriately used. The work such as a plate glass may be pressed and fixed from above by a fixing plate or the like, or may be fixed to a holding support by a vacuum adsorption method or the like. The surface of the holding support and the back surface of the fixing plate may be provided with an elastic sheet such as a cloth or rubber to prevent scratches on the upper and lower surfaces of the work such as a plate glass.

The upper surface is pressed and the lower surface is attracted to the work holding base, whereby the work is held with a high holding force. Even when pressed by the polishing surface of the polishing tape unit during the polishing process, the plate glass does not move and polishing can be performed efficiently.

It is preferable that the first abrasive tape unit includes a first abrasive tape running means for running the first abrasive tape and the second abrasive tape unit includes a second abrasive tape running means for running the second abrasive tape .

A polishing apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention is a polishing apparatus having a horizontal polishing axis for polishing a linearly polished portion of a periphery of a work using an abrasive tape and includes a work unit for holding a work, And a polishing tape unit for placing at least a part of the surface of the abrasive tape opposite to the work unit with the abrasive axis interposed therebetween, wherein the surface of the abrasive tape arranged forms a polishing surface, The polishing surface is brought into contact with the polishing surface of the polishing pad, and polishing is performed by relatively moving the polishing surface.

In addition, it is preferable that the work includes a plate glass, and the work unit includes a workpiece holding base for holding the workpiece and a swinging means for oscillating the workpiece holding base along the axis of the polishing, And the linearly polished portion of the periphery of the plate glass is relatively moved such that the average surface roughness Ra is 20 nm or less and the maximum bone depth Rv is 200 nm or less.

The polishing tape unit is a polishing tape moving means for moving the polishing surface in the horizontal direction and in the direction perpendicular to the polishing axis, whereby the linearly polished portion and the polishing surface can contact each other on the polishing axis, A polishing tape moving means, a tilting means for tilting the longitudinal axis of the polishing surface with respect to the polishing axis, and a turning means for rotating the polishing surface around the polishing axis.

Further, the work unit includes work moving means for moving the work in the horizontal direction and in the direction perpendicular to the abrasive axis.

By such a constitution, it is possible to use a polishing tape to make a polishing apparatus capable of performing a desired C-side polishing using a polishing tape by linearly polishing a portion to be polished of a work, such as the edge of a rectangular plate glass. Further, the edge portion or the end face of the plate glass can be polished with high precision so as to improve the strength of the plate glass.

A polishing apparatus according to still another aspect of the present invention is a polishing apparatus having a horizontal polishing axis for polishing a non-linearly polished portion of a periphery of a work using an abrasive tape, And a polishing tape unit for placing at least a part of the surface of the abrasive tape so as to face the work unit with the abrasive axis interposed therebetween, the surface of the abrasive tape being arranged forms a polishing surface, and non- And the polishing part is brought into contact with the polishing surface so as to move relative to the polishing axis, thereby performing polishing.

Further, the X-direction moving stage provided with the work piece including the plate glass and provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction and the direction (X direction) perpendicular to the polishing axis on the horizontal base, and the X- Direction) and a Y-direction moving stage integrally having a groove portion extending in the X-direction, and a Y-direction moving stage which is horizontally supported and rotatable by a first vertical axis integrally provided on the X- And a second vertical axis extending vertically from the surface of the workpiece support base and slidably disposed in the groove of the Y direction movable stage, wherein the workpiece support base includes a workpiece holding support base, And the non-linearly polished portion to be polished is held by the support, and by the movement of the first vertical axis and the second vertical axis, And the non-linearly polished portion and the polished surface swing along the non-linearly polished portion of the periphery of the plate glass with an average surface roughness Ra of 20 nm or less and a maximum score depth Rv) is 200 nm or less.

By such a constitution, the polishing apparatus can be a polishing apparatus that polishes a non-linearly polished portion of a work such as a plate glass (for example, R surface polishing of a corner portion) using a polishing tape. (For example, R1, R10, and the like) when polishing a portion to be polished having an R shape having a different curvature, the work unit rocks on the polishing axis while oscillating according to the shape, Grindstone, etc.), it is possible to perform polishing with high accuracy.

The abrasive tape used in the polishing apparatus according to the present invention is obtained by applying a solution in which abrasive grains are dispersed in a resin binder on the surface of a plastic base film and drying and curing the sheet by slitting to a required width, will be.

As the base film, a plastic film made of a synthetic resin having flexibility is used. Specific examples of the resin include polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate and polybutylene naphthalate; polyolefin resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene; and polyolefin resins such as polyvinyl alcohol or methacryl alcohol Acrylic resin or the like is used as a base film.

As abrasive grains, alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ), cerium oxide (CeO ₂ ), silica (SiO ₂ ), diamond, silicon carbide (SiC), chromium oxide (Cr ₂ O ₃ ), zirconia (ZrO ₂ ) , Cubic boron nitride (cBN), and the like, and mixtures thereof.

The average grain size of the abrasive grains is appropriately in the range of 0.2 μm or more (# 20000) and 3 μm or less (# 4000). If the average particle diameter exceeds 3 탆, relatively large scratches and cuts on the end face before polishing can be removed, but new minute scratches and cuts are generated on the finished surface, and sufficient strength can not be imparted to the plate glass. If the average particle diameter is less than 0.2 탆, the polishing efficiency is extremely lowered and the productivity is poor, which is not industrially practical.

Further, the present invention provides a method of polishing the periphery of the work so as to improve the strength of the work including the glass plate by using the above-described polishing apparatus. In the above method, the linearly polished portion or the non-linearly polished portion of the periphery of the work is polished using an abrasive tape, and the polished portion is polished to have an average surface roughness Ra of 20 nm or less, (Rv) of 200 nm or less, and the abrasive tape is fixed to the substrate film by abrasive grains having a predetermined particle diameter by a resin binder.

In order to impart sufficient mechanical strength to the plate glass, it is effective to form a finished surface having the above-described surface roughness Ra and the maximum groove depth Rv on the periphery of the plate glass. The polished plate glass can prevent the generation of cracks on the basis of minute scratches or cuts in the periphery of the plate glass so that the periphery has the above-described surface property, thereby preventing breakage due to mechanical stress or heat shock. In addition, the processing yield of the subsequent process is improved, and the reliability of the product in which the glass plate is built can be improved.

By carrying out the polishing apparatus or the polishing method of the present invention, it is possible to provide a cover glass for a flat display device such as a panel of a smart phone or a tablet type terminal, a liquid crystal panel, an organic EL panel, a plasma panel or a solar cell panel, It is possible to remove the latent image at the edge portion and / or the corner portion of the plate glass used for manufacturing the cover glass and the like to form a highly precise surface profile and to give the plate glass high mechanical strength. By manufacturing the cover glass using the plate glass according to the present invention and employing it in a portable terminal or the like, it is possible to improve the production yield in the manufacturing process of various products and improve the quality of the product with the plate glass.

Further, according to the polishing apparatus and the polishing method of the present invention, edge portions, end faces, corner portions, corners of corners, etc. of a work such as a plate glass can be polished and there is no need to prepare a polishing material in conformity with the shape of the object to be polished . Further, since the polishing tape can be efficiently used, the cost can be reduced and the quality can be improved.

1 is a view schematically showing one type of work.
Fig. 2 (A) is a partial cross-sectional view of the work, and Fig. 2 (B) is a plan view of the work.
Fig. 3 is an omitted front view schematically showing one type of polishing apparatus 1 according to the present invention.
4A is a plan view schematically showing one type of polishing section according to the present invention.
4B is a plan view schematically showing a positioning mechanism of one type of polishing tape unit according to the present invention.
Fig. 5 is a schematic side view schematically showing a rotating mechanism of one type of polishing tape unit according to the present invention, omitting a portion along line XX 'in Fig. 4A. Fig.
6 is a front view schematically showing a tilting mechanism of one type of abrasive tape unit according to the present invention, partially omitted.
7 is a plan view schematically showing a rocking mechanism of one type of work unit according to the present invention.
8 is a plan view schematically showing a work moving mechanism of one type of work unit according to the present invention.
9 is a plan view schematically showing another type of polishing section according to the present invention.
10A is a plan view schematically showing another type of work unit according to the present invention.
10B is a side view schematically showing another type of work unit according to the present invention.
11 is a diagram schematically showing a polishing method of a work edge (corner portion) using a grindstone.
12 is an enlarged photograph of the polished surface of the example and the comparative example.
13 is an enlarged photograph of the surface to be polished of another comparative example.
14 is a diagram schematically showing a method of an edge strength test.
Fig. 15 is a view showing the centers C1 and C2 of a work such as a rectangular plate glass.
Fig. 16 is a side view (A) and a top view (B) of a sheet glass as a work.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which various features of the invention are illustrated, without intending to limit the invention. The drawings are simplified for the purposes of the description, and the scale does not necessarily match.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a workpiece W to be polished. The work W may be a glass plate, a stainless steel plate, an aluminum plate, or a silicon plate used as a solar cell substrate. The work may have a rectangular shape or other shapes. The workpiece W has a corner portion (corner portion) at a boundary portion between an upper surface or a lower surface (main surface) and an end surface, and a corner portion (corner portion) at a boundary portion between one end surface and an adjacent end surface . The end face or the corner portion may be cut off from the untreated plate (Az slice), or may be subjected to air freshening.

2 (A) shows a partial cross-section of a so-called C chamfered work W1 of at least two sides, and Fig. 2 shows a work W2 in which four corner portions are so-called R chamfered. It is possible to obtain the workpieces W1 and W2 having the finished surfaces S1 and S1 'or S2, S2', S2 '' and S2 '' 'by polishing the edges or the corner portions.

The work W may include a plate glass. In order to improve the strength of the plate glass, it is important to remove the scratches and chipping by polishing the peripheral edge to reduce the surface roughness of the finished surface S1 or S2 and the maximum valley depth. The finished surface S1 or S2 preferably has an average surface roughness Ra of 20 nm or less and a maximum trough depth Rv of the roughness curve of 200 nm or less in order to give the plate glass W a high mechanical strength Do.

Fig. 3 schematically shows one type of polishing apparatus 1 according to the present invention. The polishing apparatus 1 includes a loading table 10 for a workpiece W disposed on a base 2, a workpiece conveying unit 20 for conveying a workpiece W along a flow direction Wf of the workpiece W, And a loading table 50 on which the first polishing section 30, the second polishing section 40 and the work W12 finished with the polishing process are placed. The first polishing portion 30 is configured to polish a linearly polished portion and the second polishing portion 40 is configured to polish a non-linearly polished portion. The number or combination of these polishing portions is not limited to this.

In Fig. 4A, the first polishing portion 30 is schematically shown. The first polishing unit 30 includes a polishing unit 300 and a work unit 350 disposed on a horizontal base 2 so as to face each other with an abrasive axis A therebetween.

The polishing tape unit 300 includes an abrasive tape unit stage 301 provided on the base 2 so as to be movable in the horizontal direction and in the direction A1 perpendicular to the abrasive axis A. [ The stage 301 can reciprocate in the direction A1 by means of the motor 302 and the LM guides 303 and 304 for extrusion control provided between the stage 301 and the base 2. [ On the stage 301, pillars 305, 306, and 307 extend in the vertical direction. The connection block 311 is movable in the vertical direction along the support 305 by the LM guide 309 and the uniaxial robot 310 installed parallel to the support 305. The connection block 311 is suitably passed through two shafts 312, 312 '(Fig. 5) so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction. A connecting member 313 is attached to the distal end of the shaft 312, 312 '. The connecting member 313 is rotatably connected to an extension arm 314 'integral with the pivot arm 314 by a pivot support pin 316. [ The pivoting arm 314 (and the extending arm 314 ') and the pivoting arm 315 have substantially symmetrical shapes and are connected to each other through the connecting jigs 330 and 331, the plate 317, and the inclined plate 318 And a polishing head 319, which is a housing for receiving and arranging the polishing tape T, from the left and right. The pivoting arms 314 (314 '), 315] are attached to the pillars 306, 307 so as to be rotatable about the axis A2. The axis A2 is parallel to the abrasive axis A.

The polishing head 319 is formed by rotatably arranging a roll for placing the polishing tape T in a housing having a bottom surface and a side surface. The top surface of the polishing head 319 suitably includes a cover capable of opening and closing. The polishing head 319 is provided with a pad member (polishing pad) 324, and the polishing tape supplied by the roll is disposed on the pad member 324. The abrasive tape T is supplied from the supply roll 321 and wound by the take-up roll 322. [ The supply roll 321 is connected to a torque motor (not shown) in order to impart appropriate tension to the abrasive tape T. The winding roll 322 is connected to a stepping motor (not shown) to wind the abrasive tape T supplied from the supply roll 321. A stopper roller for applying appropriate tension to the abrasive tape T, and an auxiliary roller for appropriately disposing the abrasive tape T on the pad member 324 may be further disposed. The polishing tape T arranged on the polishing pad 324 is formed by polishing the polishing surface 320 having a predetermined length and width along the surface shape (for example, a flat rectangular shape) of the polishing pad 324 .

It is preferable that the pad member 324 is appropriately selected in order to form a highly accurate surface property on the portion to be polished of the work W. If the elasticity of the pad member 324 is excessively large (for example, the Shore A hardness is less than 20), the finished surface of the portion to be polished (for example, the edge portion) of the work W is stretched, It becomes easy to lose. In the case where the average particle size of the abrasive grains contained in the surface of the abrasive tape T is 1 占 퐉 or less (# 8000), the abrasive speed of the pad member such as a foamed resin plate with large elasticity is drastically decreased and is not practical. When the elasticity is small (for example, the Shore A hardness exceeds 90), the straightness of the edge portion of the finished surface is sufficient, but the removal of scratches and cuts generated in the workpiece by mechanical impact tends to become insufficient.

For example, as the pad member 324, a foamed resin plate having a Shore A hardness in the range of 20 to 50 can be used to alleviate the mechanical impact. The mechanical impact can be alleviated by bringing the polishing surface 320 formed by the polishing tape T into contact with the work via the pad member 324 having elasticity so that even if the shape of the pre- easy to do.

Alternatively, as the pad member 324, a combination of the above-mentioned foamed resin plate and a rubber plate having a Shore A hardness in the range of 80 to 90 may be used. By doing so, even if an abrasive tape having an extremely small average particle diameter (for example, 1 μm or less) is used, the polishing speed is not excessively slowed and the linearity of the edge portion having high-precision surface properties Ra and Rv An excellent finished surface can be formed.

The pad member 324 may be one having no elasticity such as MC nylon or the like. When the pad member 324 does not have elasticity, it is preferable to perform the pressure control so that mechanical shock does not occur.

The surface of the pad member 324 may be a convex curved surface which is not flat. This is because the abrasion can be performed while protecting the abrasive tape T by restricting the contact with the abrasive tape T (abrasive surface) of the end portion of the abrasive portion (for example, both end portions of the side portions).

The surface C of the work W is polished by using the flexible polishing tape and the elastic pad member so that the roughness of the roughness of the workpiece W in the finished surface S1 S1) is formed into a curved surface having an end R shape, and new scratches and cuts are not formed in the new edge portion.

During the polishing process, the polishing tape T may be in a stopped state or continuously or intermittently. The polishing tape T may be used in a stopped state when the polishing is finished in a short time and the surface of the new polishing tape T may be supplied to the pad member as a polishing surface for the next polishing after polishing. This is because the cost can be reduced. In the case where polishing takes a long time, it is preferable to continuously or intermittently run the polishing tape so as to continuously supply the surface of the abrasive tape including the abrasive surface, that is, the abrasive grains. This is because the polishing efficiency can be increased.

The pressing force for pressing the polishing surface 320 partitioned by the polishing tape T disposed on the pad member 324 against the edge portion or the edge surface of the workpiece W such as a plate glass can be changed depending on the state of the workpiece W , The initial stage of polishing may be small and may be gradually increased along with the progress of polishing. For example, in the case of a plate glass, there is an acute angle portion in the corner or end face of the Az slice, and when a strong pressing force is applied from the beginning of the polishing, the abrasive tape T on the polishing surface 320 is scratched Or the abrasive tape T may be broken. By controlling the pressing force, polishing can be performed while protecting the surface of the polishing tape.

The work unit 350 has a horizontal work holding support 351 for holding the work W horizontally. Before the polishing process, the work W is appropriately arranged (by the work transfer unit 20) on the work holding table 351 across the polishing axis A.

Fig. 4B shows a positioning mechanism in the first polishing section of the polishing apparatus of the present invention. The polishing tape unit stage 301 is moved in the direction A1 by the motor 302 (Fig. 4A) and the LM guides 303 and 304 (same), and one of the workpieces W laid on the workpiece holding base 351 At least a part of the end face (or the edge) comes into contact with the polishing surface 320. Further, by pressing on the polishing surface 320, the entire one end face (edge) comes into contact with the polishing surface 320 in the polishing axis A. At this time, the polishing axis A may coincide with the rotation axis A2.

Since the thus positioned workpiece W is fixed to the workpiece holder 351 and the polishing process is performed, it is possible to uniformly polish one end face (edge) of the rectangular workpiece without bias.

Fig. 5 is a side view taken along the line X-X 'in which a part of Fig. 4A is omitted. The pivot arm 314 and the extension arm 314 'are shown integrally for simplicity and the polishing head 319 is shown in dashed lines. The pivotal arms 314 and 314 'holding the polishing head 319 via the connecting jig 330, the plate 317 and the inclined plate 318 are pivoted about the pivotal axis A2 ), Which is rotatable around the support shaft 306. The support shaft 306 is rotatably mounted on the support shaft 306 as shown in Fig. The arm 315 is attached to the support 307 on the opposite side with the polishing head 319 interposed therebetween (Fig. 4A). The shape of the pivoting arm or the connecting jig is not particularly limited and may be suitably selected to hold a member (plate, motor, etc.) integral with the polishing head 319 and the polishing head 319. [

As described above, the pivoting arms 314 and 314 'are pivotally attached to the connecting member 313 by the pivot support pins 316, and the connecting block 311 is pivotally connected to the rear end of the connecting member 313 And the connecting block 311 is movable in the vertical direction along the strut 305 by the LM guide 309 and the uniaxial robot 310. The shafts 312 and 312 '

As the connecting block 311 moves upward along the support 305, the shafts 312 and 312 'integrated with the connecting member 313 are pulled out in the right direction in the figure, and the pivoting arms 314 'Rotate around the rotation axis A2 and the polishing head 319 held by the rotation arm rotates around the rotation axis A2 so that the polishing surface 320 is tilted with respect to the vertical plane can do. The range of the angle? Is not limited to the illustrated example, but can be arbitrarily determined by the moving distance of the connecting block 311 in the vertical direction, the length of the shafts 312 and 312 ', and the like. Suitably, the range of the angle? Is -90 degrees??? 90 degrees with respect to the vertical plane including the turning axis A2.

Thus, the polishing surface 320 of the polishing head 319 is inclined at an angle? With respect to the vertical plane, so that one edge of the upper surface of the work W (not shown) held horizontally in the work unit The desired C side polishing can be performed.

Similarly, the connection block 311 moves downward along the support 305, so that the polishing surface 320 is positioned at the edge (corner) of the lower surface of the work W (not shown) held horizontally in the work unit, So that the desired C side polishing can be performed.

6, the tilting mechanism of the polishing tape unit 300 according to the present invention is shown. As described above, the connecting jigs 330 and 331 integrated with the pivoting arms 314 and 314 '(Figs. 4A and 5) hold the plate 317 integrally. The inclined plate 318 is attached to the plate 317 so as to be rotatable about the axis A7 (Fig. 5) passing through the shaft support pin 325 by the shaft support pin 325. [ The lower surface of the polishing head 319 is integrally connected to the flat upper end portion (FIG. 4A) of the inclined plate 318. The plate 317 is provided with guide grooves 326a, 326b, 326c and 326d for forming circular arcs around the shaft support pin 325 (the axis A7). The fixing jigs 327a, 327b, 327c and 327d integrally provided on the inclined plate 318 slide in the guide grooves 326a, 326b, 326c and 326d, respectively, in accordance with the rotation of the inclined plate 318, The tilting plate 318 can be fixed with respect to the plate 317 at any position.

The longitudinal axis A3 of the polishing surface 320 formed by the surface of the abrasive tape T is set such that the abrasive axis A is in contact with the abrasive surface of the workpiece, The relative moving trajectory). When the tilting plate 318 is rotated, the longitudinal axis A3 of the polishing surface 320 is inclined, for example, by a length axis A3 'by?. The range of the angle [theta] is suitably 0 deg. &Lt;

7 shows a swing mechanism of a workpiece holding base 351 for holding a workpiece W in the work unit 350 according to the present invention.

The work holding and holding unit 350 includes LM rails 360a and 360b parallel to the abrasive axis A on the upper surface and horizontally stacked on the top of a vertically extending pillar (not shown) on the base 2 As shown in Fig. Timing pulleys 354a, 354b, 354c and 353a, 353b, 353c, 353d driven by a motor 352 and a timing belt 355 are provided below the fixed plate 359. A work holding support 351 is horizontally stacked integrally with the LM blocks 361a, 361b, 361c, and 361d capable of swinging on the LM rails 360a and 360b above the fixed plate 359. Likewise, balancer (weight) 358b is integrally mounted on the LM rails 360a and 360b above the fixed plate 359 in unison with the LM blocks 362a and 362b capable of swinging, and the LM blocks 363a and 363b And a balancer (weight) 358c is integrally mounted.

A rod 356a extending vertically from the upper surface of the timing pulley 354a is inserted into a groove 357a provided on the lower surface of the workpiece support base 351. [ A rod 356b extending vertically from the upper surface of the timing pulley 354b is inserted into the groove 357b provided on the lower surface of the balancer 358b and the groove 357c provided on the lower surface of the balancer 358c is inserted into the groove 357b provided on the lower surface of the balancer 358b. And a rod 356c extending vertically from the upper surface of the timing pulley 354c is inserted.

The timing pulleys 354a, 354b and 354c rotate and the rods 356a, 356b and 356c rotate in synchronism with the driving of the motor 352 so that the workpiece holding base 351 and the balancers 358b and 358c And swing along the polishing axis A, respectively.

Here, the workpiece holder 351 is configured to sufficiently suppress the vibration of the workpiece W horizontally held by the fixing means (not shown). When the work holding support 351 moves in the left direction in the figure, the balancers 358b and 358c move in the right direction respectively. When the work holding support 351 moves in the right direction in the figure, the balancers 358b and 358c move in the left direction respectively. By doing so, the vibration when the workpiece holder 351 rocks is canceled, and high-precision polishing can be performed.

The swing mechanism may be configured to be provided adjacent to a plurality of (for example, two) workpiece holding supports 351 for suppressing the vibration and swing in the opposite direction synchronously along the polishing axis A . In this case, since the vibrations are canceled by the plurality of work holding supports, the balancer becomes unnecessary.

Even when polishing is performed by moving the object to be polished (plate glass) with respect to the polishing object (polishing surface) by the force of pressing the polishing surface (polishing tape T), the flexibility, the elasticity of the pad member and the strength of the plate glass, The object to be polished is not broken. Since the relative movement between the polished portion and the polished surface (the surface of the polishing tape) at the time of polishing is performed along the polishing axis by suppressing the vibration, a highly accurate surface property is formed on the polished surface S1, etc., Fig. 2).

Fig. 8 shows another type of positioning mechanism according to the polishing apparatus of the present invention. The workpiece support base 351 'of the work unit 350 has a groove 334 on its upper surface and a rod 333 movable in the direction of the drive axis A1' of the motor 332 is positioned in the groove.

8 (A), when the work W is placed without grinding the grinding axis A, the rod 333 driven by the motor 332 moves the work W in the direction A1, (A). By doing so, the polishing surface of the polishing tape unit and the portion to be polished of the work W can reliably make contact with the polishing axis A.

Fig. 9 shows a second polishing section 40 relating to the polishing apparatus 1 (Fig. 3) of the present invention. The second polishing unit 40 includes a polishing tape unit 300 'and a workpiece holding unit 300' disposed opposite to the polishing tape unit 300 'with the polishing axis A therebetween, And a work unit (400) having a workpiece (401). The polishing tape unit 300 'has a configuration similar to that of the polishing tape unit 300 as appropriate. The polishing axis A may coincide with the first polishing portion. Further, it may have a horizontal abrasive axis A 'that does not coincide with the first abrasive axis A.

10A and 10B, a work unit 400 is shown. In Fig. 10A, the work W and the workpiece holding base 401 are shown by broken lines.

The work unit 400 includes a fixed plate 403 horizontally stacked on pillars 402 and 402 'extending vertically upward from a horizontal base 2, And a fixing plate 405 horizontally stacked on the supporting posts 404.

An X-direction moving stage 413 is attached to the fixed plate 405 by a servomotor 414 and a single-shaft movable unit 408 so as to reciprocate in the X-direction. An X-direction movable plate 406 is integrally mounted on the X-direction movable stage 413. The axis A4 extending vertically from the upper surface of the X direction movable plate 406 is extended to support the workpiece holder 401 in a rotatable manner and horizontally.

A Y-direction movable stage 407 having a hole 429 is attached to the fixed plate 405 by a linear guide 409 so as to reciprocate in the Y direction. A Y-direction movable plate 410 is integrally provided on the Y-direction movable stage 407 and a guide member 411 having guide grooves 412 is integrally attached thereto. A shaft A5 including a rod (or pin) extending vertically from the lower surface of the workpiece support base 401 is slidably disposed in the guide groove 412 formed in the X direction.

Timing pulleys 422 and 424 driven by a motor 420 and a timing belt 423 are provided between the plate 403 and the plate 405. The timing pulley 422 and the Y- And a rotary member 425 rotatable in synchronization with the timing pulley 422 is provided between the output shaft 407 and the timing pulley 422. A rod 427 extending vertically upward from the upper surface of the rotary member 425 is inserted into the hole 429 of the Y-directional movable stage 407.

When the timing pulley 422 rotates through the timing belt 423 by the driving of the motor 420, the rotating member 425 rotates in synchronization with the pulley 422. When the rotary member 425 rotates, the integral rod 427 rotates to move in the hole 429 provided in the Y direction movable stage 407, and the movable stage 407 is reciprocated in the Y direction with a constant stroke . The integral plate 410 and the guide member 411 reciprocate in the Y direction along the reciprocating movement of the Y direction movable stage 407 and the vertical axis A5 in the guide groove 412 moves in the Y direction. The position y in the Y direction of the vertical axis A5 is transmitted to the servo motor 414 via the sequencer and the vertical axis A4 is rotated by the servo motor 414 in response to the movement of the vertical axis A5 in the Y direction A non-linearly polished portion (a corner portion having a predetermined curvature) of the work W is moved to a position x in the X direction of the vertical axis A4 positioned on the polishing axis A in synchronism with each other. The workpiece support base 401 rotatably and horizontally held on the vertical axis A4 is moved in the X direction by the movement of the vertical axis A4 in the X direction, A5 slide in the groove 412 and move in the X direction. The movement of the vertical axis A5 is a combination of the movement in the X direction and the movement in the Y direction, and the movement is the rotation around the vertical axis A4. For example, the vertical axis A5 may move on the circumference of the ellipse having the long diameter 2d about the center C of the swing stroke.

As the vertical axis A4 moves in the X direction and the vertical axis A5 moves in the X direction and the Y direction as described above, the workpiece holding base 401 rocks along the polishing axis A while swinging, The non-linear portions to be polished, such as the corner portions, can be successively polished while being in contact with the polishing surface.

By performing the position control using the servo motor, it is possible to easily control the swinging and swinging strokes of the non-linearly polished portion on the polishing axis A, and the R surface polishing with a desired curvature can be performed. It is not necessary to produce a polishing material (such as a grinding wheel) according to the shape of the portion to be polished of the work, because the work can swing and polish according to the shape of the portion to be polished of the work.

Instead of the above configuration, two axes control of the X axis and the Y axis may be performed by the servo motor. Alternatively, the position of the two vertical axes may be controlled by the cam control instead of the control by the servo motor. In this case, a timing pulley for moving the vertical axis A4 in the X direction and a cam for synchronizing the vertical movement of the vertical axis A5 in the Y direction can be used instead of the servomotor.

The polishing surface 320 'of the polishing tape unit 300' may also be subjected to polishing of the corners along the upper surface (or lower surface) of the corner portion of the work W,

The polishing apparatus according to the present invention includes a control device (not shown) for appropriately controlling each unit.

The polishing apparatus according to the present invention can perform both dry and wet polishing. To suitably carry out the wet polishing, it has a water supplier or a water pipe (not shown) for supplying an aqueous solution containing water or a surfactant. By supplying water or the like to the polished surface or the work, the polishing efficiency can be improved, or the polishing residue can be washed away. The polishing apparatus may be provided with an air nozzle for jetting air. This is because water or abrasive dust can be prevented from adhering to the work unit. Further, in order to prevent sintering of the workpiece suitably comprising the metal material, it has a feeder or a pipe (not shown) for supplying the machining oil.

The polishing apparatus according to the present invention may include a first polishing section for polishing a linearly polished portion of the work and a second polishing section for polishing a non-linearly polished portion of the work. By doing so, the entire periphery of the plate glass can be polished by one polishing apparatus. Further, since the abrasive tape is used for polishing, it is possible to form highly precise surface features on the finished surface, thereby improving the quality of the abrasive to be polished. Since various shapes of workpieces can be polished using an abrasive tape, costs can be reduced, generation of abrasive dust during polishing is reduced, and maintenance of the apparatus is also easy.

Further, the polishing apparatus according to the present invention may be composed of any one of the first polishing section and the second polishing section.

1st Example

Using the polishing apparatus according to the present invention, the edges (corners) of the work were polished. As the work, rectangular soda lime glass having a length of 70 mm, a width of 40 mm and a thickness of 0.8 mm was used. 8 sides along the upper and lower surfaces of the plate glass were polished to form a finished surface (S1, etc., Fig. 2). In polishing, the longitudinal axis of the polishing surface of the polishing tape unit was inclined by 10 degrees with respect to the polishing axis (? = 10). In addition, the polishing surface was inclined at 45 degrees relative to the vertical plane (alpha = 45 [deg.]). In this manner, one edge of the plate glass and the polished surface are in contact with each other, and the work unit is oscillated along the polished axis so that the polished surface and the polished surface move relative to each other. The number of reciprocations (1 reciprocation = 1 pass) of the plate glass was controlled by the abrasive grain diameter included in the surface of the abrasive tape so that the abrasion amount of the C surface abrasion was 50 탆 and the abrasion amount was constant. The abrasive surface was parallel to the abrasive axis, and the abrasive tape did not run. Further, polishing was performed while supplying a small amount of water to the polished surface.

The other polishing conditions of the first embodiment are as follows.

Polishing condition ( One side )

Stroke length (L) of reciprocating motion of plate glass: 150 mm

Width of abrasive tape: 30 mm

Pressing force (thrust) of the polishing tape: 15N

As the polishing tape, GC (Green Carborundum) # 4000 (SiC: average diameter of 3 mu m) was used, and a foam resin pad having a Shore A hardness of 30 was used as the pad member. The number of round trips of the plate glass was 21 passes.

Second Example

In the manufacturing method of the second embodiment, GC # 6000 (average particle diameter of 2 mu m) was used as the abrasive tape. The number of round trips of the plate glass was 24 passes. Other conditions were the same as in the first embodiment.

Third Example

In the manufacturing method of the third embodiment, GC # 10000 (average particle diameter 0.5 mu m) was used as the abrasive tape. As the pad member, a rubber plate of Shore A hardness 80 and a foamed resin plate of Shore A hardness 30 were used. The number of round trips of the plate glass was 31 passes. Other conditions were the same as in the first embodiment.

1st Comparative Example

In the manufacturing method of the first comparative example, GC # 1000 (average particle diameter of 16 mu m) was used as the abrasive tape. The number of round trips of the plate glass was 7 passes. Other conditions were the same as in the first embodiment.

Second Comparative Example

In the manufacturing method of the second comparative example, GC # 2000 (average particle diameter of 9 mu m) was used as the abrasive tape. The number of round trips of the plate glass was 11 passes. Other conditions were the same as in the first embodiment.

Third Comparative Example

In the manufacturing method of the third comparative example, GC # 3000 (average particle diameter of 5 mu m) was used as the abrasive tape. The number of round trips of the plate glass was 17 passes. Other conditions were the same as in the first embodiment.

Fourth Comparative Example

In the manufacturing method of the fourth comparative example, a grinding stone 500 having a diamond abrasive grain (# 14) having a mesh size of # 1000 and an average grain size of 14 to 22 탆 was metal-bonded. As shown in Fig. 11, the corners of the main surfaces (upper and lower surfaces) of the grinding wheel and the plate glass were arranged, and the chamfering of the corners was performed by rotating the grinding wheel.

The average surface roughness (Ra) of the finish-polished embodiment and the comparative example and the maximum depth (Rv) of the roughness curve are shown in Table 1 below. The average surface roughness (Ra) and the maximum bone depth (Rv) were measured by a surface roughness meter (product name: NewView 5000: Zygo).

By the manufacturing method of the first to third embodiments, the portions to be polished are formed with high-precision finished surfaces (average surface roughness (Ra): 1.7 nm to 11.5 nm, maximum bone depth (Rv): 32 nm to 162 nm) Plate glass was obtained. The number of reciprocating passes was about 20 to 30, and the polishing rate was sufficient. In the finished surface of the plate glass according to the production method of the comparative example, the maximum bone depth often exceeded 1000 nm.

An enlarged photograph of the finished surface of Examples and Comparative Examples is shown in Fig. The left side is an optical photograph by a digital microscope (product name VHX 500: manufactured by KEYENCE), and the right side is by a surface roughness meter (product name: NewView 5000: manufactured by Zygo Corporation). (A) is a first comparative example, (B) is a second comparative example, (C) is a first embodiment, and (D) is a finished surface according to the third embodiment.

(A) and (B) according to the comparative examples had a large number of irregularities on the surface, which was insufficient as the surface properties of the finished surface. (C) and (D) according to the embodiment have high-precision finished surfaces without irregularities or scratches, and the linearity of the edge portions is also excellent. By using the abrasive tape, the finished surface had a curved surface.

13 is an enlarged photograph of the finished surface of the plate glass obtained in the manufacturing method of the fourth comparative example. There was a grinding mark (wheel mark) on the surface, and a lot of scratches were seen. By polishing with a grinding stone, the finished surface was not formed into a curved surface.

The edge strength (MPa) of each of the plate glasses of Examples and Comparative Examples was measured. The edge strength refers to the strength of the edge portion of the glass. The edge strength was measured using a commercially available four-point bending tester based on the room temperature bending strength test method (JIS R 1601). A method of an edge strength test (four-point bending) is schematically shown in Fig. The test was performed under the condition that the load jig spacing was 10 mm, the support jig spacing was 30 mm, and the load speed was 5 mm / min.

Table 1 shows values obtained by averaging the edge intensities obtained by testing ten sheets of the plate glasses of the examples and the comparative examples. With the polishing apparatus according to the present invention, the plate glass formed by polishing the end edge portion using the abrasive tape including the fine abrasive grains on the surface and having the finished surface has the average surface roughness Ra of the finished surface and the maximum bone depth Rv As a result, the edge strength was improved to three times or more as compared with the conventional grinding. As described above, the plate glass according to the present invention has remarkably improved edge strength, so that the plate glass can be prevented from being damaged by mechanical stress or thermal shock by the manufacturing process of the product using the plate glass. Further, even after the plate glass is embedded in the product, it is hardly damaged, and the reliability of the product can be improved.

Fourth Example

Using the polishing apparatus according to the present invention, the corner portions of the plate glass were polished. The plate glass was subjected to predetermined R-shaped machining (primer polishing) by a grinder in advance. The same abrasive tape as the first embodiment was used. The pressure was 1N and the number of reciprocations was 5 passes.

Fifth Example

The corners of the plate glass on which no primer polishing was carried out (Az slice) were polished. The abrasive tape was subjected to R shape machining (rough grinding) with D # 600 (30 mu m), and then the same abrasive tape as that of the first embodiment was used.

(Average surface roughness (Ra): about 1.5 nm to 12 nm, maximum bone depth (Rv): about 30 nm to 165 nm) was obtained even in the fourth and fifth embodiments.

Those skilled in the art are aware that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and form of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention are merely illustrative and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

W: Walk
T: abrasive tape
A: Polishing axis
1: Polishing apparatus
2: Base
10: Workpiece stack 1
20: Work transfer unit
30: First polishing part
40: second polishing portion
50: Workpiece stack 2
300: abrasive tape unit 1
300 ': abrasive tape unit 2
350: Work unit 1
400: Work unit 2

Claims (21)

A polishing apparatus for polishing a periphery of a work using an abrasive tape,
A first polishing section having a horizontal first polishing axis for polishing a linearly polished portion of a periphery of the work;
And a second polishing section having a horizontal second polishing axis for polishing a non-linearly polished portion of the periphery of the work,
Wherein the first polishing unit includes a first work unit for holding the workpiece and a first workpiece unit for holding a surface of at least a part of the first abrasive tape opposite to the first workpiece unit with the first abrasive axis interposed therebetween, Comprising an abrasive tape unit,
Wherein the second polishing unit includes a second work unit for holding the work and a second polishing unit for placing the surface of at least a part of the second abrasive tape opposite to the second work unit, Comprising an abrasive tape unit,
The surface of the first abrasive tape in the first abrasive section forms a first abrasive surface, and the linear abrasive portion and the first abrasive surface are in contact with each other, Polishing is carried out,
The surface of the second abrasive tape in the second polishing section defines a second abrasive surface, and the non-linearly-polished portion and the second abrasive surface are in contact with each other to form a relative Wherein polishing is carried out by moving. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the workpiece comprises a plate glass,
Wherein the linearly polished portion and the first polished surface of the first polished portion are formed so that the linear polished portion of the periphery of the plate glass has a mean surface roughness Ra of 200 nm or less and a maximum score depth Rv ) Is formed so as to be 20 nm or less,
Wherein the non-linearly polished portion and the second polished surface of the second polishing portion are formed such that the non-linearly polished portion of the periphery of the plate glass has an average surface roughness Ra of 20 nm or less, So that the depth (Rv) is relatively shifted to be 200 nm or less. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first work unit
A first work holding base for holding the work,
And swinging means for swinging the first work holding support base along the first polishing axis. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second work unit is placed on a horizontal base,
An X-direction movable stage provided movably in a horizontal direction and in a direction perpendicular to the second polishing axis (X direction)
A Y direction movable stage provided movably in a direction parallel to the second polishing axis (Y direction) and having a groove portion integrally extending in the X direction,
And a second workpiece holding base rotatably supported horizontally by a first vertical axis integrally provided in the X direction movable stage,
The second workpiece holding support base has a second vertical axis extending vertically from the surface of the second workpiece support base and a second vertical axis slidably positioned in the groove of the Y directional movement stage,
The workpiece is held on the second workpiece holding base,
Wherein the non-linearly-polished polishing unit rocks along the second polishing axis while swinging by the movement of the first vertical axis and the second vertical axis. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first polishing tape unit has first polishing tape moving means for moving the first polishing surface in a horizontal direction and in a direction perpendicular to the first polishing axis, , The linearly polished portion and the first polishing surface can contact with each other on the first polishing axis,
And the second abrasive tape unit has second abrasive tape moving means for moving the second abrasive face in a horizontal direction and in a direction perpendicular to the second abrasive axis, whereby at least one of the non-linearly-polished portions And the second polishing surface can come into contact with the second polishing axis. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first abrasive tape unit includes first inclining means for inclining the longitudinal axis of the first abrasive surface with respect to the first abrasive axis,
And the second abrasive tape unit includes second inclining means for inclining the longitudinal axis of the second abrasive surface with respect to the second abrasive axis. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first polishing tape unit includes first rotating means for rotating the first polishing surface about the first polishing axis,
And the second abrasive tape unit includes second rotating means for rotating the second abrasive surface about the second abrasive axis. 3. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first work unit includes work moving means for moving the work in a horizontal direction and in a direction perpendicular to the first abrasive axis. 3. The workpiece clamping apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first workpiece unit includes first workpiece fixing means for pressing and fixing and / or attracting and fixing the workpiece,
And second work fixing means for pressing and fixing and / or attracting and fixing the work by the second work unit. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first abrasive tape unit includes first abrasive tape running means for running the first abrasive tape,
And the second abrasive tape unit includes a second abrasive tape running means for running the second abrasive tape. A polishing apparatus having a horizontal polishing axis for polishing a linearly polished portion of a periphery of a work using an abrasive tape,
A work unit for holding the work,
And an abrasive tape unit for disposing at least a part of the surface of the abrasive tape opposite to the work unit with the abrasive axis interposed therebetween,
Wherein the surface of the disposed abrasive tape forms a polishing surface, and the abrasive is performed by causing the linearly polished portion and the abrasive surface to be in contact with each other and to move relative to each other along the abrasive axis. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the workpiece comprises a plate glass,
Wherein the work unit comprises:
A work holding support for holding the work,
And swinging means for swinging the work holding support along the polishing axis,
Wherein the linearly polished portion and the polished surface are formed so that the linearly polished portion of the periphery of the plate glass has a relative surface roughness Ra of not more than 20 nm and a maximum bone depth Rv of not more than 200 nm Wherein the polishing surface is a polishing surface. The polishing apparatus according to claim 11 or 12,
And a polishing tape moving means for moving the polishing surface in a horizontal direction and in a direction perpendicular to the polishing axis so that the linearly polished portion and the polishing surface move in contact with the polishing axis, Sudan,
An inclination means for inclining the longitudinal axis of the polishing surface with respect to the polishing axis,
And a rotating means for rotating the polishing surface about the polishing axis. 13. The polishing apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the work unit includes work moving means for moving the work in a horizontal direction and in a direction perpendicular to the abrasive axis. An abrasive tape used in the polishing apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 14. A polishing apparatus having a horizontal polishing axis for polishing a non-linearly polished portion of a periphery of a work using an abrasive tape,
A work unit for holding the work,
And an abrasive tape unit for disposing at least a part of the surface of the abrasive tape opposite to the work unit with the abrasive axis interposed therebetween,
Wherein the surface of the disposed abrasive tape defines a polishing surface and the non-linearly polished portion and the polishing surface are in contact with each other and are moved relative to each other along the abrasive axis so that polishing is performed. 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the workpiece comprises a plate glass,
The work unit is mounted on a horizontal base
An X-direction movable stage provided movably in a horizontal direction and in a direction (X direction) perpendicular to the polishing axis,
A Y direction moving stage provided movably in a direction parallel to the polishing axis (Y direction) and having a groove portion integrally extending in the X direction,
And a work holding base rotatably supported horizontally by a first vertical axis provided integrally with the X direction movable stage,
And a second vertical axis extending vertically from the surface of the workpiece support base and having a second vertical axis slidably positioned in the groove of the Y direction movable stage,
The workpiece is held on the workpiece holder,
Wherein the non-linearly polished portion is swung along the polishing axis while swinging by the movement of the first vertical axis and the second vertical axis,
The non-linearly polished portion and the polished surface are formed such that the non-linearly polished portion of the periphery of the plate glass has an average surface roughness Ra of 20 nm or less and a maximum score depth Rv of 200 nm or less So as to move relative to each other. A polishing tape used in the polishing apparatus according to claim 16 or claim 17, wherein the abrasive tape has abrasive grains fixedly attached to a base film by a resin binder. The abrasive tape is characterized in that the abrasive grains have a grain size in the range of 0.2 탆 to 3 탆, Abrasive tape. 11. A method for polishing a peripheral portion of a work to improve the strength of the work including the glass plate by using the apparatus according to claim 11,
Wherein the portion to be polished linearly on the periphery of the work is polished by using an abrasive tape and the portion to be polished is formed so as to have an average surface roughness Ra of 20 nm or less and a maximum bone depth Rv of 200 nm or less Comprising a polishing step,
Wherein the abrasive tape is formed by attaching abrasive grains to a base film by a resin binder,
And the grain size of the abrasive grains is in the range of 0.2 탆 or more and 3 탆 or less. A method for polishing a peripheral portion of a work for improving the strength of a work including a plate glass by using the apparatus according to claim 16,
The non-linearly polished portion of the periphery of the work is polished by using an abrasive tape and the polished portion is formed so as to have an average surface roughness Ra of 20 nm or less and a maximum bone depth Rv of 200 nm or less Wherein the polishing step comprises:
Wherein the abrasive tape comprises a base material and abrasive grains fixedly attached to the base material by a binder resin,
And the grain size of the abrasive grains is in the range of 0.2 탆 or more and 3 탆 or less. 20. A plate glass in which at least a part of the periphery is polished by the polishing method according to claim 19 or 20.

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